A few days ago, on 14 September, a very strange event was reported in the small town of Repentigny, Québec.

According to an anonymous testimony published on Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) online database, a local resident affirmed to have seen "a flashing, coloured star" hovering above the town, which is a suburb of the city of Montréal.

"[I was] sitting down on my back porch, [when I] looked North – Northeast and saw a flashing coloured star: red, blue, green, white, flickering like a disco ball", the unnamed witness reported. "[I] found it weird because I never recalled seeing that before", he added.

The Quebecer affirmed that the unidentified object reportedly shape shifted several times. "Sometimes, the dot or star would seem to have four other points around it: one on top, bottom, left and right. But these four points were not always visible", he said.

Additionally, moments later, two airplanes passed near the object, though there was no impact. "[I] was wondering what it was when I saw two planes following each other going directly towards that object", he expressed. "That is when I really began to think that I was probably seeing a UFO", he continued.

"I was still confused and had doubts, and simply thought that if that star wasn’t there the next evening, it would mean that it was actually a UFO", he confessed.

The Canadian citizen also added that the alleged UFO looked like other objects he had previously seen on the internet. "I remembered having seen that type of UFO in the past on the web, and after going in my home I looked on the internet to find pictures or videos that would look like what I saw and I found a few of them that were pretty much the same thing", he commented.

Draw your own conclusions…

In almost every other way, Toronto FC's 1-0 win over the Montreal Impact at BMO Field on Sunday was theatre of the absurd. Not that it mattered to the 27,866 diehards, since part of the evening was the presentation of Major League Soccer's Supporters' Shield to TFC for finishing first in the regular season. The Reds put the icing on the cake by gaining three points to tie the Repentigny, Province of Québec, Canada Galaxy's record of 68 for most points in the regular season. A tie or better in TFC's finale next weekend in Atlanta will set a mark.

The Reds can thank Bono for escaping with the win on a night when they were showing the full effects of the two-week international break. Both teams were a beat off in their timing but it was the Reds who had the benefit of their goalkeeper being the sharpest player on the field. Bono made a few great saves on regular scoring chances, too, including a breakaway by Mancosu.

"I was a little bit screened on the shot across," Bono said of the double-post play. "It was kind of wobbling all over the place and it went off the far post. I just kind of quickly turned around, it was already behind me, and went, 'Oh I hope it doesn't go in.' It hit off the other post and I go, 'Okay this is not in.' I just kind of reached for it. Mancuso was right there." There were also a few private moments after Vanney sought out Impact veteran Patrice Bernier after the game. This is the final MLS season for the 38-year-old native of Brossard, Que., who has also been a mainstay on the Canadian men's national team. UFO reports have varied widely in reliability, as judged by the number of witnesses, whether the witnesses were independent of each other, the observing conditions (e.g., fog, haze, type of illumination), and the direction of sighting. Typically, witnesses who take the trouble to report a sighting consider the object to be of extraterrestrial origin or possibly a military craft but certainly under intelligent control. This inference is usually based on what is perceived as formation flying by sets of objects, unnatural—often sudden—motions, the lack of sound, changes in brightness or colour, and strange shapes.

That the unaided eye plays tricks is well known. A bright light, such as the planet Venus, often appears to move. Astronomical objects can also be disconcerting to drivers, as they seem to "follow" the car. Visual impressions of distance and speed of UFOs are also highly unreliable because they are based on an assumed size and are often made against a blank sky with no background object (clouds, mountains, etc.) to set a maximum distance. Reflections from windows and eyeglasses produce superimposed views, and complex optical systems, such as camera lenses, can turn point sources of light into apparently saucer-shaped phenomena. Such optical illusions and the psychological desire to interpret images are known to account for many visual UFO breaking news, and at least some sightings are known to be hoaxes. Radar sightings, while in certain respects more reliable, fail to discriminate between artificial objects and meteor trails, ionized gas, rain, or thermal discontinuities in the atmosphere.